Mail-catcher.



C. F. JACKSON.

MAlL CATCHER. APPLICATION FILED 0CT.3. 1914.

Patented Oct. 12, 1915.

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C. F. JACKSON.

MAIL CATCHER.

APPLICATION FILED 001.3. 1914.

Patentd Oct. 12, 1915.

4 SHEET$-$HEET 2 CCMWASHINGTON, D. C.

' C. F. JACKSON.

MAIL CATCHER.

APPLlCATiON man ocna. 1914.

Patented Oct. 12, 1915.

4 SHEETSSHEET 3,

C. F. JACKSON.

MAIL CATCHER.

APPLICATION FILED ocns. I914.

1,156,844. Patented 060.12 1915.

4 SHEETSSHEET- 4.

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COLUMBIA PLANDGIIAPH c0 WASHINGTON. D. c.

iinrinn s'i a' rs CLAIBOVURNETFREMQNT JACKSON, F LAS MINAS, CUBA.

MAILCATGHER.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, CLAIBOURNE FRnMoN JACKSON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Las Minas, in the Republic of Cuba, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Mail-Catchers,v of which the following is a specification. j

This invention relates to a mail catcher and the principal object of the invention is to provide improved means for delivering a mailbag from a. holding apparatus to a chute-sothat the mail bag can be delivered to a moving train or from a moving train to a station device.

Another object of the invention-is to provide an improved type of spring gun for delivering the mail bag to the train device.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved type of trough which is mounted alongside the. track to receive the mail bag delivered from the train. V

Another object of the invention is to provide improved means for setting the spring plungers of the station gun and to also provide improved means for releasing the spring plunger. y I e Another object of the invention is to provide improved means for suspending a sack to be delivered from the train and to also provide improved means for releas ng the sack and permitting-it to drop into the station trough.

Thisinvention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein?- I j Figure 1 is a View in elevation'showing the station gun in a set position with a mail .car in a position to actuate the means for releasing the spring plunger; Fig. 2 is an end elevation ofthe structure shownin Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional View taken along the line 33 of Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is a plan view of the means-for suspending a sack to be delivered fromthetrain; Fig. 5

is a perspective view of the sack holding ring; Fig. 6 is a view in elevation'of the station trough with acar shown in a position to deliver a sack therein; Fig. 7 is a top plan view of the structure shown in Fig. 6; Fig. 8 is a longitudinal sectional view through the gun forming part of this invention; Fig. 9 is an enlarged transverse sectional view through the gun taken along the line 99 of Fig. 8; Fig. 10 is-a sectional view'taken along the line 10-10of Fig. .8

In this mail catcher there is provideda delivering device for deliveringthe sack .to

' positioned adjacent the track.

Parana? ora ion Specification of Letters Patent. Patentgd fiat, 1915; Application filed. October a, 1914.. Serial No. 864,911

' the train. In order to accomplish this there ing brackets 22 so that by turning thewheel I 21, the stem may be moved outwardly, thus drawing the plunger 15. to the position shown-in Fig. 8 against thetension of the spring 23.. Injorder to releasably hold the plunger in the set position therev is provided a-pawl Qwhich is yieldably'held in a normal positionby the spring25 and extends through an opening formed in the shoulder 26, into the gun, thus permitting its free'end to enter the socket 27 of the plunger. A line 28 is connected with'the upperend of the pawl 24 and after beingpassed around the pulleys 29 is connected with the bell crank lever 30 which forms the trigger. In order to move the trigger a finger 31 is sea cured to the car 32 in sucha manner that its upturned outer end 33 will engage the. free arm of the bell crank lever the train passes the station, thus swingingthe same to 'drawvthe line 28 and move the pawl 24 out of engagement withfth'e plunger 15. -As the plunger is 'released,the spring 23w111 move the sametoward the open end of the gun and the plunger will strike the mail bag which has previously been placed in .the gun throughthe openingor doorway Ev l-which is closed by, means of thecover i This sack will be driven out of the gun andwill pass into the trough 3'6 of the chute-37 ,:which communicates with: the interior ofthe mail I car. In orderto.preventithe plunger from. moving toward the open end ofthe gunbeyond a desired amount there has been provided an abutment lug 38 which will strike against the collara39 of thehead 517- and thus llIl1"l-l}.-.th6 movement of the plunger in one direction. It will thus be seen that the plun ger will be automatically released asthe' I train passes the station and that the mail bag will be driven out of the gun and into the chute through which it will pass into the interior of the mailicar. 1

- Adjacent the track there is provided'a i o A It should be noted that certain of these standards are shorter than the remaining ones, thereby causing the central portion of the trough to be curved downwardly as shown in Fig; 6. At oneend of the trough there is secured a rod 1-2 which extends up wardly to engage the lever 43 of the catch 4L4: when the train passes the station. This catch 4 1- is pivotally' connected with the arm a5 which extends from themail car 32 and is so locatedthat when in the-position shown in Fig. 4:: it may pass into the notch 46 of theblock 4: 7, carried by the sack holding ring 48.. r 7

Vlhen'the mail'car passes the station, the bag which is placed inthe gun will be delivered to'the car in the manner already described and the rod e2 will strike the lever 43', thus releasing the block 4%? and permit ting it to pass through the opening 49. The mail bag placed inthe loop or ring 48 will then drop into the trough tO and will; slide along this trough, the downwardly inclined portionof the trough causing the sack to lose its momentum and -thus-come to a stop 1 Without violently striking the end of the trough. The bag can now be removed from thetrougl'iand a new oneplaced in the gun, the wheel 21 havingbeen previously turned to draw the stem 16 outwardly until the pawl 24L enters the socket 27 to hold the plunger in a set position i V I have therefore provided anapparatus for delivering a mail bagto a station, the apparatus being soconstructed that it Will work automatically and therefore may be used forcleliveiing and receiving mail bags from a train which is-moving very rapidly. It shoulda-lso be noted that this apparatus is very simple in construction and there= fore willnot readily get out of order.

WVhat is claimed is-:i

1 In an apparatus ot the character de scribed, a receiving trough, asuspending arm'provided with a cut out, a sack holding element, a block extending from said sack holding element through the cut out of said suspending arm and provided with a; notch, a latch pivotally connected with said suspending arm and extending through the notch of said bloclr to releasably hold- 7 the same in the-cutout of'sa-id arm, a lever' extending from said catch, and? means exand an actuating element extending above said trough, and a car device'comprising a suspending arm, a sack holding element,and means movably connected with said suspending arm for engagingsaid sack holding element to releasablyhold the same in engagement with said arm, said last mentioned means including a lever extending for engagement by the actuating'el'ement of said track device to cause the last mentioned means to be moved to a position to release said sack holding element.

In} an apparatus of the character described, a train device including a support ing arm provided with anopening, a sack holding element including a block extending through the opening of said arm and provided with a cut out forming a seat, a catch pivotally connected with said supporting arm and extending into said seat to releasably hold said block int engagement with said arm, and a lever extending from said catch to permit said catch to be moved to'an inoperative position. i

4. In an apparatus of the character described,- a receiving trough, a support, a gun: carried by'said support, a plunger slidable in said gun, resilient means for bold ing said plunger in a normal position, means for moving saidplunger to a set position, said gun provided with. an opening intermediate its ends, door means for closing said opening, an enlargement ontheunder side of said gun, a collar on said enlargement, a bracket depending from said collar, a pawl slidable'throughsaid enlargement and said bracket and projecting int'osaid gun a collar on said pawl; resilient means engaging said last mentioned collar and said bracket for hQldingsaidpa whina setposition, and means carried by sald pawl whereby the 309165151? -P may be obtaine ffor'five cents each; by addressing the Commissioner of 'Patents;

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